Transcending the Nine Heavens

"This is for you." Chu Yang pretended to fish out something from his bosom, and gave it to Wu Qian Qian.

"This is..." Wu Qian Qian was somewhat surprised.

"You can wear this as an accessory. This can boost your practice speed." Chu Yang vaguely explained.

"It’s really beautiful." Wu Qian Qian didn’t know what this was, but she her body felt very comfortable when she held it in her hand. It was slightly cold, yet slightly warm. Its temperate was interchangeably fluctuating between cold and warm. It was translucent and sparkling. She liked it too much to part with it. She just continued to look at it, and felt as if she had received a priceless treasure.

"Practice well," Chu Yang said in an encouraging manner.

Wu Qian Qian revealed a sweet smile. She didn’t care much about the rare technique that she had received from Chu Yang, but she very much adored the fact that Chu Yang had finally given her a treasure; and too with his own hands. This had made her extremely happy.

However, Chu Yang was unaware that this Nine Revolutions Mysterious Yin along with this ‘Yin and Yang Jade Pendant’ would give birth to a very terrifying persona in the future!

That was because neither Chu Yang, nor the Sword Spirit knew that Wu Qian Qian had grown-up in a place that was very rich in the Seven Yin Cold Energy. She wasn’t just exceptionally brilliant, but she also had an inborn ‘Mysterious Yin Female Body’!

Nine Revolutions Mysterious Yin – as the name suggests – requires nine revolutions for an ordinary woman’s body to transform into ‘Mysterious Yin Female Body’. And then, it can display frightening power!

However, Wu Qian Qian didn’t need these nine revolutions for the transformation. She could directly enter the Mysterious Yin Realm!

This is similar to martial arts practice or cultivation to become an immortal. An ordinary person starts from the body; one step at a time. They temper their bones... then the internal organs... and that’s how they manage to jump from being an acquired martial artist to an innate one. And then, they build the base to become an immortal... Yes, this is the road that must be followed.

However, the base had already been built in Wu Qian Qian’s case. And, she was merely waiting to receive for the initiation to set out on the journey. Moreover, her starting point was the highest point for the vast majority of people!

Everybody started from the ground, but she would start from the skies. This was simply incredible. Her ultimate achievement wouldn’t be as extravagant as those of the Master of Nine Tribulations Sword. However, one could say that she could be compared with Chu Yang!

Chu Yang naturally didn’t know any of this.

However, things were doomed to not remain calm for long...

The lights suddenly extinguished on the side of Diwu Qing Rou’s army! This incited a state of tension and unrest on the Iron Cloud’s side.

Then, a roaring squad of Great Zhao’s soldiers rushed towards Iron Cloud’s side. They appeared like an angry black dragon in the darkness. Iron Cloud immediately took emergency action, and mobilized the archers. The archers prepared their bows at an incredible speed, and unleashed a rain of arrows.

However... that squad of Great Zhao’s soldiers arrived about a few hundred feet away from the Iron Cloud barracks. And then, they suddenly changed directions... just like the wind. Then, the squad took a roundabout way, and went back to the main army’s formation.

This was just a harassment tactic to raise a false alarm.

And, the Great Zhao army squads began to attack from all sides immediately afterwards; first from east, and then suddenly from the west. And, they attacked from every possible angle. Such a continuous harassment tactic had been turned into reality. And, its unpredictability was working greatly towards confusing people.

The battlefront was stretched over a long distance. So, the effect of Diwu Qing Rou’s harassment tactic was also greater.

Curses started to rise from the Iron Cloud Army’s side after dozens of consecutive harassment attacks! Some of the short-tempered generals had even begun to shout ‘mother*kers’. [You mother*kers don’t even allow the others to sleep? You just had to rush over to fight in the middle of the night, ah!]

Tie Long Cheng appeared calm in the commander’s tent. He continued to issue commands with ease.

This wasn’t a decisive attack; just a harassment tactic. It would be very bad if something like this were to enrage the Supreme Commander. Meanwhile, Tie Bu Tian had already gone to bed. The Emperor hadn’t slept well in the past few days. However, he could finally sleep properly...

Diwu Qing Rou’s harassment warfare was endless. And, the dawn was beginning to break. They had already attacked 40-50 times during the night. In fact, they had even attacked from 7 or 8 positions at the same time on occasions!

Another wave of attack came as the break of dawn approached! Four army units had attacked from four different directions in this instance. Three of the army units retreated after harassing the Iron Cloud’s side a bit once the alarms started to sound.

Everyone had grown accustomed to this pattern. So, they only relied on the archers to use their arrows to repel the attackers.

However... the seemingly ordinary squad in the middle didn’t retreat! They faced the rain of arrows, and madly burst into the Iron Cloud’s barracks with irresistible force!

This came as a big surprise!

This squad of cavalry soldiers wasn’t big in number. It only had 2000 to 3000 rider, but each one of them was brave and unstoppable. So, the valiant soldiers of Iron Cloud didn’t stand a chance against them!

Moreover, the ordinary-looking armors of these invading soldiers turned out to be invulnerable some for reason. The arrows would merely impact upon their bodies with a sharp ‘pop’ sound, and would then bounce back in succession.

They broke the stockades with their kicks... and the defense positions of Iron Cloud soldiers was next to fall. And then, the squad broke into small teams, and dispersed around. Suddenly, a loud ‘Bang’ sound was heard as the horses fell into the pitfalls that had been dug up in advance.

Iron Cloud’s soldiers were busy cheering — when they suddenly heard a loud roar. And then, the warhorses unexpectedly galloped out of the pitfalls like a bunch of lightning spears sticking out of the ground!

A blood-curdling shout resounded!

The cavalry soldiers – who had just dispersed – suddenly converged into one irresistible and mighty current, and courageously advanced towards the depths of Iron Cloud’s army formation. They continued to kill everything that came in their path!

Iron Cloud’s generals got furious. They mobilized their own troops to pursue, besiege, and stop the enemy soldiers.

Tie Long Cheng was standing at a high altitude. He was looking at the Iron Cloud’s troops from afar. However, they were moving about haphazardly. He sighed and spoke, "Golden Horse Riders Department genuinely lives up to its reputation!"

He paused for a second, and then said, "Diwu Qing Rou is really willing to pay such a price!"

The senior generals who stood nearby nodded in unison. They were shocked to look at the state of these troops. They couldn’t help but think of their own troops, [would our troops have been able to withstand this drilling attack if they had been caught off-guard by such an elite squad?]

This squad of Golden Horse Riders advanced for a considerable distance, and eventually arrived in front of an impregnable iron wall. However, this squad of riders suddenly changed directions, and made an abrupt turn which would’ve been impossible for ordinary cavalry soldiers. After that, they went in another direction, and continued to kill and spill blood along their path!

However, this didn’t continue for long... only for about half an hour!

The fire beacon billowed among the war cries that shook the sky. It was already daybreak. This squad of riders had continued to slaughter and spill blood. Their bodies were covered with bits of flesh and blood. So, they went returned to their army formation while taking strict precautions against Iron Cloud’s offensives...

About two-thousand of initial two-thousand-five-hundred people were still alive!

This was undoubtedly a magnificent victory for the Great Zhao.

[Our Great Zhao is still invincible. The Iron Cloud won’t be able to withstand a single blow from us!] This incident had greatly boosted the morale of the Great Zhao’s army.

Tie Long Cheng watched the squad of Golden Horse Riders leave with a profound look in his eyes. Yet, the look on his face was calm.

"Supreme Commander. Why don’t we prepare a squad of elites, and kill them off in one fell swoop?" a general on the side suggested in an angry and confused manner.

"This is Minister Chu’s decision." Tie Long Cheng indifferently replied, "Now isn’t the right time to send out the elites!"

The generals seemed quite dissatisfied when they heard that it was Minister Chu’s decision. However, they suddenly went silent. They recalled the insufferably arrogant King of Hell Chu... a man who had openly embarrassed Diwu Qing Rou in front of millions of troops.

They recalled the time when the combined 8 million troops of the two nations had gone silent after having heard King of Hell Chu’s loud proclamation!

So, nobody dared to raise any objections...

No one knew that Diwu Qing Rou had stood alone atop the commander’s tent that night. He had watched the stars as they twinkled in the sky. But, his face was dead-ashen.

He had come here after he had drafted the assault-strategy.

And, he had stood here quietly all night... His personal soldiers thought that the Prime Minister was sleeping, but they were unaware that he hadn’t slept.

"What’s this?" Diwu Qing Rou tightly knitted his eyebrows as he thought aloud, "The movement of the stars was blurred and hidden before the war. But, why has the universe hung itself upside-down all of a sudden?"

"The star of the Great Zhao has suddenly dimmed, while the Emperor star of Iron Cloud – that has been dim and obscure all this time – has suddenly become radiant and extremely bright!" Diwu Qing Rou remained puzzled no matter how much he pondered over it, " I had observed the sky Six days ago when I was on the way here. And, I had noticed that the stars of both the sides were obscure and hard to read. But now... unexpectedly... it has become so clear! What in the world happened during these few days?"

Diwu Qing Rou was utterly confused. His train of thought was in a mess.

After all, he had no idea as to what had happened. Tie Bu Tian would perhaps hide her face in shame if he were to ask her. That was because... Tie Bu Tian had rescued Chu Yang on that night six days ago – right at the time of dawn’s break...

"The Wisdom star has gone bleak; it seemed as if it would fall down from the sky. The northern side of the sky is shining red, and looks brilliant to the utmost. But, the southern side is clearly lacking in brilliance... and is submitting to the north... And, what’s going on with this star?" Diwu Qing Rou focused his eyes to look at the night sky, and his brow wrinkled even more tightly.

There was a star within the scope of his observation, and this particular star had shrouded the entire sky with its brilliance. It was issuing a radiant brilliance that had overshadowed the nearby stars. Thus, the nearby stars appeared dull. In fact, they were barely visible. This star was the Emperor star.

However, there was yet another brilliant star right above this one. And, the radiance of his particular star couldn’t be suppressed by the incomparable glory of the Emperor star either. Moreover, there was mutual repulsion between these two stars. Yet, they got along very harmoniously...

"This auxiliary star should reside under the Emperor star. But, why is it residing over the Emperor star? This is a bizarre anomaly... of a weakling commanding a strong lord... but then, why are these two stars so harmonious?"

"There has never appeared an auxiliary star. So, why did it suddenly appear this time? Don’t tell me... this auxiliary star is King of Hell Chu?" Diwu Qing Rou appeared distressed as he further pondered, "There’s only one possibility that may have led to this situation. And, that is... something has happened between Tie Bu Tian and King of Hell Chu! But... what could possibly happen that has led to such an astronomical transformation?"

"The Wisdom star has grown so dim. Don’t tell me that I... Diwu Qing Rou... am going to face some unpredictable disaster?"

Diwu Qing Rou continued to stare at the stars, and remained standing for a long time. His thoughts were in utter chaos, and he simply couldn’t understand the fundamental reason behind all this. This sudden change in the sky had completely subverted Diwu Qing Rou’s perception of the astronomical phenomena. And, thinking more and more about it had given him a headache... to the extent that he felt as if his head would explode.

"The Emperor star’s strong brilliance clearly shows that it is already at the height of power! The destiny has already flipped over if such is the case! After all... the Emperor star was shining in the Great Zhao earlier... Its red light of luck was clearly shining in the Great Zhao! Why did it suddenly change sides? Doesn’t this change indicate that it has been playing with me my whole life?"

An endless sense of loss and anger appeared on Diwu Qing Rou’s face.

"Heaven, why must you tease me like this? The Emperor star of luck and fortune has been glowing continuously in the south for 25 years. And, it has suddenly moved to the north at this critical juncture?! This... is divine intervention ah! Is this some kind of a joke?"

Diwu Qing Rou muttered with grief and indignation. His mind was in turmoil. In this moment – at daybreak – he suddenly spouted a mouthful of blood.